Customer Reviews

Chancellorsville (Stackpole)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chancellorsville: Lee's Greatest Battle will more likely appeal to general readers rather than to Civil War enthusiasts that prefer more detailed accounts. First published in 1958, this book is typical of the historical accounts that became so popular as the Civil War centennial approached. (A second edition, 1988, is available in soft cover.) The author, General Edward J. Stackpole, was a combat infantry officer in WWI and a division commander in WWII.

Stackpole's account is written in a clear, readable, straight-forward style. Stackpole never disguises his opinions: he highly admired Robert E. Lee's bold, aggressive action, while he had little respect for Joseph Hooker's timid, defensive posture. This bias - and to be fair Hooker was defeated - was the general consensus of historians until a few decades ago.

For a more modern, more detailed, scholarly account of this battle, I highly recommend Chancellorsville by Stephen J. Sears, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996. I give it five stars. If time permits, it is interesting to read Stackpole's account first, and then follow it up with Sear's more in-depth analysis. A direct comparison of these two books illustrates how historical interpretation can change dramatically in just a few decades.

Chancellorsville tells the story of the Civil War battle in clear, easy-to-understand language that the average person can understand. It's a nice history for those who don't need to have every detail of every military unit's movement, who just want a straight telling of what happened. Briskly told, the author refrains from getting too far into pop psychology in interpreting the people involved, as can happen with newer histories of the Civil War. All in all, I would recommend this book for anyone who just want a general knowledge of the battle. For more in-depth book reviews I've done, search for goldenrulecomics on Squidoo.